The problems of storing, transporting and disposing discarded tires are many and varied. Discarded tires provide a breeding ground for bacteria and for insects, as water collects within the interior of the tires and is slow to evaporate.
The dimensions of a tire make it difficult to stack tires in a low volume-consuming manner. In transporting tires to a burial site or to a recycling plant, motor trucks at times carry only about one-half a full load by weight. Since a motor truck operated at less than a full weight potential costs very nearly as much as a truck which is at its capacity, the cost effectiveness of transporting tires may be increased by volume densification prior to shipment.
In tire disposal by burial, government regulations have been enacted to prevent burial of intact tires, since such tires have a tendency to resurface. Thus, some cutting of the tire is required.
In tire disposal by incineration, the most common methods include reducing scrap tires into small chips. The chips are more easily handled than a bulky tire and are more cost effective to burn. Apparatus for shredding rubber tires are known. U.K. Patent No. 2,045,108 to Schmidt teaches an apparatus which granulates old tires. A tire is first cut into circumferentially extending strips by a longitudinally cutting device, whereafter the tire bead wires are rejected and the strips of tire are cut transversely in a second cutting operation. The rubber portion of each tire piece is then separated from the fabric in a crushing mill.
The purpose of the Schmidt apparatus is to granulate discarded tires for retrieval of materials. However, material retrieval is an expensive process and is often cost prohibitive. Granulation is not desirable if tire segmentation is sought for purposes of burning, burial, or ease of handling and transporting. U.S. Pat. No. 3,911,772 to Kisielewski discloses a mobile material cutter that makes a diametrical cut across a tire to halve the tire. While this halving of a tire permits an increased weight load for motor trucks, a full load is still not possible. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,338,839 and 4,338,840 to Farrell, Sr. et al. disclose portable cutting machines which quarter a tire by means of a hydraulic cylinder ram which drives blades into the tire. It has been shown, however, that quartering a tire will still-not permit full load transportation. Aditionally, halving and quartering of a tire will not eliminate collection of water within pockets in the interior of the tire.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and method which will densify a scrap tire for purposes such as transportation, burial and ease of handling. A further object is to provide such an apparatus and method which is both time and cost efficient.